Notes / Commercial Description:
This oak-aged gentle giant has been gaining popularity over the past few years and is now available year-round.

For Burton Baton, we brew two "threads," or batches, of beer: an English-style old ale and an imperial IPA.

After fementating the beers separately in our stainless tanks, they're transferred and blended together in one of our large oak tanks. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month.

When enjoying the Burton Baton, you'll find an awesome blend of the citrus notes from Northwestern hops melding with woody, vanilla notes from the oak. The wood also tends to mellow the 10% ABV of Burton, so tread cautiously!

Pours a translucent amber color with over an inch of off-white froth with good retention. Aroma smells of citric hops with hints of bread and caramel.

Bold taste features grapefruit, pine resin, bread, caramel, and a hint of vanilla. There’s also a peppery bite that adds a little extra zing. There really isn’t much transitioning, as the taste holds its form front to back. The influence of the barrel is modest but emerges more as the beer warms, as does the alcohol. Medium body and fine carbonation make for a velvety mouthfeel that is quite nice.

Overall, this is a full-flavored IPA with enough sweetness to contend with the hops. I’m still not convinced that IPAs lend themselves well to barrel aging, but this is good regardless.

Ahhh yesssss good ole DFH, where the only let downs come out of their highest rated brews and those considered high average are often world class. These guys usually do not steer me wrong, so I shall soon find out whether the risk was worth thr reward for this $6 12oz.

Look - Pours a moderate amber with a fusion of copper with a two finger slightly off white head. Cannot yet speak on its retention. Carbonation appears to be on medium with this brew. Head ends up retaining pretty well but lacing really isn't there. 4.5.

Smell - High strung malts lead off the nose with a big hit of earth and a certain though tame oak presence. Smells like squeezing the Earts juices straight from the dirt. 4.

Taste - Hugely earthy. I mean, you can taste the grass, the trees, the tree sap, and all the flowers in between. Malts are a large player and dominate the flavor with the hops and earthiness coming in throughout. This really is a complex flavor profile and distinguishing between the two mentioned is quite a difficult process. The hop bitterness is present with a driving juicyness that reminds you this is in fact an IPA. This is a big beer, and I suggest small drinks to truly appreciate the taste without getting an overdose of oak that will consume the rest. Where is the 10% alcohol in this guy? Not even a tinge is present. 4.

Feel - Medium although thick and creamy bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. That oak flavor lingers around on the tongue and reminds you to take things slowly as only high ABV brews get brewed with it. Not a touch of alcohol for 10%. 4.25.

Overall - Well, not entirely sure it was worth the price tag. But, this is a massive beer, adequately suited for a ' black day ' ( IE a day where life is simply too much and drunky land sounds like a nice place before you call to the noose) . Overall, if you like oaked beers you will fall in love with it. Otherwise, due to price, I'd say avoid. 4.

ADVOCATES WARNING : NOT A BEGINNERS BEER. NOT EVEN AN ADEPT NOR JOURNEYMANS BEER. EXERIENCED CRAFT DRINKERS ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT.

Heh, kidding new guys. Enjoy as you may, just don't vomit it up all over your über kühl hipster tank top after a chug off on a night of Stella Artshitbeer.

Not sure what style to rate against, given that this is an interesting blending experiment of an IPA plus an old ale, but here we go. Quite a pretty coppery amber color, with minimal cream-colored foam that doesn't cover the entire surface but extends a bit beyond the rim after pouring a year-old bottle (08/05/14, reviewed 07/25/15).

Overall, the addition of the old ale and aging on oak puts this into that confusing category of DIPAs that can easily be confused with American barleywines. Mild piney, resinous hop character on the nose along with vanilla, oak, orange, and brown sugar. Drinks much the same, but adds some malt and caramel; hops are less prominent after a year in the bottle, which I personally appreciate here. To its detriment, the beer is less complex than a number of other old ales, despite its heritage as a blend. That said, it's very approachable and a great example of a year-round, obtainable beer that's good for cellaring.

Poured into an imperial pint glass at ~50F. Burnt orange amber and 3 fingers of creamy off white head that dwindles to a rich and creamy half finger cap. Lacing covers roughly half of the whole glass above the beer. It has a kind of glossy look about it... really nice, high quality stuff.

Smell is kind of quiet, but I get mainly vanilla and caramel candy and a hint of damp, dank citrus hoppiness.

Taste is creamy burnt caramel that turns into hoppy bitter over ripe dark citrus. Very unique flavors shine easily yet are blended extremely well. Definitely has epic depth and character from the aging.

Mouth feel is smooth, viscous, silky, and full bodied, with 10% ABV hidden deep down in there very tactfully... Very well done.

Overall I wish I had an endless supply of this stuff, but at $16 a four pack, it will have to be a go-to for special occasions only. This is probably my favorite brew from Dogfish Head.

Wow! A truly unique brew. The appearance is a nearly opaque light amber with a thin film of head. A light and earthy grapefruit nose greets you, and belies the intense and flavorful first sip. Tread lightly, this is strong brew that could easily spell a short night. Highly recommend for sitting on a deck after twilight on a Summer's evening.

I picked up this four-pack already chilled at the local store and I am glad that I did. Even though it is a bit pricey, it is definitely worth it. It has an even 10% ABV and about 70 IBUs. Let’s see what we got here.

Look-It pours a mild auburn color with a yellow tinge in the right light; medium clarity and plentiful carbonation. The head is full bodied and foamy and lingers all the way down leaving a very fine and delicate lacing on the glass. Very nice!

Smell-It smells of vanilla and citrus!

Taste-The taste is rich and deep. It is so refreshing, because the vanilla notes play on the tongue for a long time while the flavors of citrus, candied cherries, oak, and then it gives way to a hoppiness that sing high notes above the mild sweetness. It isn’t too sweet at all and what’s more is that the listed flavors interact with one another so well. They even form sort of a candied yam flavor like your favorite dish from Thanksgiving! It isn’t a palate wrecker, but the hops are definitely present and delicious. The alcohol is strong, but not overpowering. I definitely taste the two different blends that the brewer boasts. Excellent beer!

Mouthfeel-This is a very silky smooth beer where even the plentiful carbonation does not contribute in an overwhelming manner. The carbonation manifests itself as a sort of afterthought that is gentle and smooth complimenting the bite from the hops and alcohol, I think you’ll agree that this is a great beer!

Overall-I am definitely pleased with this variety. I think that everyone should try it as long as it is served chilled and poured into a nice glass you will get the full experience. What’s really cool about this beer is the brewers threaded two beers together and then aged them in an oak barrel. They brew and English-style old ale and an imperial IPA and then thread them together and then let them sit in oaky barrels; absolutely delicious and so drinkable. It drinks like a 7-8% ABV so tread carefully! Cheers!

One of my favorites from DFH. Smells of vanilla, hops and a bit of booze. Taste is amazing - vanilla, and a solid malt base, the finish is citrus hops with a touch of booze. Smooth and creamy feel - let it warm up a bit to truly enjoy it. DFH makes three of my favorite "sippers", this, the 120, and Palo Santo.

Nice blend of the two styles, with the citric tang and hop bite nicely complemented by the oak vanilla and malt smoothness. The alcohol heat is present but never gets in the way. This is a stellar offering from a stellar brewery.

The pour is a gift from the Heavens. Starts off with a thickish, murky copper color that brings about a cascading head. The head is really thick and foamy and retains for a good while. Eventually the head drops, but only slightly, from the sides leaving an amazingly thick lace stuck to the glass.

Really on I picked up the Pacific a northwest hops but after letting the beer sit for a minute, the PNW scents are gone replaced by oak, vanilla, and caramel. There's a splash of Barleywine in the nose.

This isn't a standard issue double IPA. Piney notes abound, but the oak aging has transformed this beer into a style almost all it's own. A very Earthy flavor dominates with the high alcohol content bringing about a sprit like quality.

Bitterness dominates, but there is a drinkability to it as it's not a palate wrecker. It's thick and full bodied, and fairly manly. It goes down pretty easy despite an aggressive alcohol kick, but it shits off at the swallow, never coating the tongue or holding it hostage.

I don't care much for the brewery but I consider this one of their best offerings. Not so much a go-to beer as it is a change of lace from the usual stuff.

Poured into a pint glass. A clear copper-brown color with a frothy tan head. Decent staying power and the foam left some nice tracks. The nose brought a nice mix of floral, citrus, earthy, woody, and malty aromas. The flavors lined up this was as well - a fun balance of a big hoppy beer with the best aspects of an Old Ale, all with some wood tones.

Like many of us drinking a variety of American craft beers I'm suffering from a bit of IPA overkill. This beer could bring me back to the style, the barreling brought it a complexity that made it really interesting.

$3.99/bottle at Total Wine Tampa. Pours a super creamy head. Tastes of bitter orange. Oak gives it a smooth, creaminess- almost like a nitro. Alcohol, hop bitterness, and oak flavors meld together in the finish. Very unique, classy IPA. I would not mind having this again, especially with that abv, but wouldn't go out of my way, as the "dank-creamsicle" flavor is a tad off-putting.

Taste - fantastic! As complex as the smell, the taste is none other than classic IIPA. Perfect balance of bitter hops and sweet malt; nothing overpowers. At 10% a.b.v, I figured I'd be feeling the burn, but this was as smooth as they come.

Mouthfeel - medium. Coats the tongue well.

Drinkability - with the high a.b.v, I could only drink a couple, but I would be very happy doing it.

Other than an unusual smell, this beer exceeded what I expected. I would love to try the DIPA that the English old ale was mixed with to create this. Even with the mixture the American hops shine through and provide a great assertive bitterness and the oak aging smooths out the higher than average abv to be almost unnoticeable. Very good, unique take on the American DIPA.